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The Columbus Italian Festival  was moved back one week this year to coincide with Experience Columbus Days, the local celebration of Columbus Day. 

The Columbus Italian Festival in the Italian Village neighborhood and hosted by St. John the Baptist Italian Catholic Church.  This is the 28th annual Italian Festival.  It’s American-Italian Idol competition is the 4th Annual! 

The Experience Columbus Days site invites one and all to the festival.   There is a discount available with the flyer on the Experience Columbus Days site.

The Italian Festival site says: “church is at the corner of Hamlet & Lincoln Streets next to the Wonder Bread building. “

I heard breaking news that the City of Columbus had taken over City Center just before noon today…  I thought Channel 6 News said the lot on the corner of Rich Street and High Street was being bought by the city for $2.88 Million and was part of the redevelopment plans.  

Within a day or 20 days or so … (by October 15) Columbus City Council will get to read the ordinance that was created yesterday or today in negotiations.  The city was to meet the malls managers in court today. 

Columbus Business First story by Matt Burns says:

“Mayor Michael Coleman said Thursday that the city and Capitol South Community Urban Redevelopment Corp. have reached a tentative agreement with mall owners Simon Property Group Inc. and General Motors Pension Trust to take control of the shopping center Oct. 31, with the city paying $2.8 million for an adjacent parcel that once housed the Centrum ice rink.”

The Columbus Dispatch online has a great slideshow of the City Center site before, during and since the decline of the mall.  An article by Mike Pramik on the Columbus Dispatch site “City Center might close once Macy’s leaves”

We won’t know what the plans are for six months?  It won’t be a mall.  It won’t be demolished (great parking!!)  I walked through City Center on Tuesday.  I parked at City Center.  I have probably not been in City Center for 5 years.  I don’t shop at  Polaris, Tuttle or Easton much either though.   

City Center on Tuesday about 12:30?  Empty.  I cut through Macy’s.  Empty.

“Come Play in our Backyard “  is the theme of this years Columbus Days festivities, October 5 - 8,  2007.   ”Experience Columbus is the official travel and tourism resource for Columbus, Ohio ” and is the place to find out what’s happening in Columbus during Columbus Days. Click on the official discount flyer on the Experience Columbus Days site or on the Experience Columbus site for 50% of many local attractions, discounts on others.  Many of the performances you need reservations and there is a “password” to get you the discount by phone. 

Columbus kid’s favorites:

Columbus Childrens Theatre, Park Street Theatre, 512 Park St, Columbus Ohio

Columbus Santa Maria, 25 Marconi Blvd. Columbus Ohio (in Battelle Park on the riverfront)

Columbus Zoo and Aquarium 9990 Riverside Dr, Powell Ohio

COSI, 333 W. Broad St. Columbus Ohio

The Wilds,  14000 International Rd, Cumberland Ohio

More museums 

Columbus Museum of Art, 480 E. Broad St, Columbus Ohio

Ohio Historical Center, 1982 Velma Ave, Columbus Ohio

Wexner Center for the Arts, 1871 N. High St. Columbus Ohio  William Wegman’s Funney/Strange Exhibition Weimaraners is  now at the Wexner Center!

 Definitely more adult:

Beulah Park Thoroughbred Racetrack,  3811 Southwest Blvd, Grove City

Shadowbox - The Sketch Comedy & Rock-n-Roll Club, 164 Easton Town Center, Columbus Ohio

Definitely not for children…

Contemporary American Theatre Company (CATCO) production of ‘The Pillowman’ Studio One Theatre in the Riffe Center, 77 S. High St, Columbus Ohio
“**Strong language and violence. Not suitable for children.** “ according to the Experience Columbus site!… 50% off tickets if you know the password.  More…. 

More… 

Franklin Park Conservatory, 1777 E. Broad St, Columbus Ohio 

In addition to being Columbus Ohio’s four day celebration of Columbus Day (Monday October 8, 2007) Central Ohio’s weekend events include:

Herb Harvest Day - Sat October 6, 2007 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at the Ohio Herb Education Center, 109 Johnstown Rd., Gahanna.

North Market Harvest Festival -  ”Live Music, kids activities and cooking contests.” according to the Experience Columbus Days site.  

Saturday being the first Saturday of the month is the Short North’s Gallery Hop.  The Gallery Hop is from the Convention Center north on High Street to 5th Ave.

Columbus Italian Festival,  ”Saint John the Baptist Italian Catholic Church, Italian Village. Located one block west of N. 4th Street” according to the Experience Columbus Days site. The Festival website has great directions, a map and says: “church is at the corner of Hamlet & Lincoln Streets next to the Wonder Bread building. “

Zona Bambini…. or Kids Zone… Columbus Italian Festival is of course a family affair… 

Sports, Ohio State Soccer or Crew Soccer and the Blue Jackets (Friday evening)  seem to be on the Columbus Days menu, the OSU football team is in West Lafayette Indiana for the day.

and even more… 

Also to celebrate Columbus Days -  25% off food at some of Central Ohio’s premier restaurants, members of Columbus Originals. 

A Columbus suburb was in Sundays New York Times ‘This Land’ column.  

Is Bexley Ohio an obscure corner of Ohio?  Or a well-known corner? 

The New York Times ‘This Land’ column by Dan Barry says:

“Dan Barry takes readers behind news articles and into obscure and well-known corners of the United States. His column appears every Sunday.”

 ‘This Land’ New York Times Column Sunday September 23, 2007  In “Bringing Hollywood Boulevard to Main Street.”  Bexley Ohio was in the New York Times column Sunday! 

“In Bexley, a leafy old suburb of the sprawling capital city of Columbus, everyone plays a role. “ 

Sunday’s “This Land” column is about the role Jeff Franks and his Drexel Theater play in the east side Columbus suburb. 

It’s a great article about the history of the Drexel Theater in Bexley.

Franks and his wife have owned the beautiful art deco theater on Main Street in Bexley for 26 years.  It’s a wonderful story about why Jeff Frank’s grandson calls him “George.”

Drexel Theaters 

Thanks to my friend blogger / Realtor® Sandy Mattingly in NYC who brought the column to my attention.  I have to admit I have not been to the Drexel Theater in Bexley in years… outside my regular stomping grounds but the Drexel Theater is a local treasure. 

For those outside Central Ohio, Bexley is a gorgeous city on the east side of Columbus.  Bexley is one of the classy “old suburbs” of Columbus.  Other suburb’s  in Central Ohio that are older like Bexley and inside 270 include Grandview Heights, Upper Arlington, Marble Cliff, Riverlea, Minerva Park and  Worthington.   Those communities could also be described as “leafy old suburbs.”   

There is a Drexel Theater in Grandview Heights also. 

There are also neighborhoods within the City of Columbus as well that have that feel as if you are stuck in ’It’s a Wonderful Life”,  a Shirley Temple movie or the other classic movies of days gone by.     

Orange barrels line State Route 161 in northeast Franklin County County, have for years as the New Albany area grows.

I thought I had never been to Blendon Woods in N.E. Franklin County.

Metro Parks

Blendon Woods Metro Park

I have driven by Blendon Woods a lot. Although with all the orange barrels I try to avoid the area.

Getting to Blendon Woods from the Polaris area was the tough part. I was not driving. I was co-pilot… coming from just south of Polaris we took Cleveland Avenue to 161 and went east. Unfortunately when we got close to Blendon Woods we accidentally got on 270 with all the orange barrel action on State Route 161. We took a drive by Easton up north to Morse Rd. then could not get on 161 from 270 so went to Route 3 South to 161 east… then with full concentration on reading signs and distinguishing orange barrel strewn routes we stayed on State Rout 161 the second time through, we took the Little Turtle Way exit, we turned on E. Dublin -Granville Rd. (Old State Route 161 / East Dublin Granville Road according to the Blendon Woods brochure) and made the turn into Blendon Woods Metro Park!

When we got there I knew I was right I have never been to Blendon Woods Metro Park before!

We visited the Walden Waterfowl Refuge, Thoreau Lake and it’s observation shelters, we saw some of the migratory birds.. we saw ducks and sandpipers. We saw three turtles on a log in the Thoreau Lake sunning themselves. I caught sight of them with my bare eyes.

On our hike we saw squirrels…. that was really it for wildlife… we spent a lot of time identifying trees. There was just an itty bitty bit of color change….

The most photogenic part of the day was Blendon Woods Metro Park’s “Monarch Mansion”… a tent fit for the king of butterflies. Excuse me for using the same slide show again, I am addicted to the look of the collage and it really works for me with these butterflies.

The second photo is a picture of a Monarch butterfly on the front of the tent.